chapter 10

Catherine's consciousness was fading, her thoughts gradually dissipating.

Vaguely, she saw the shooter, seemingly one of Avra's friends…

Avra, she still won't let me go, will she?

Catherine slowly closed her eyes, and when true despair settled in, she found herself calm.

In that instant, she felt sorry for her aging parents.

She was so close… she could almost have gone home.

In a daze, Catherine seemed to hear a flurry of chaotic voices nearby.

"Emergency! The patient has a silver bullet lodged in her heart. Treatment will be difficult, and she's losing a lot of blood. Where is her family?"

"We can't reach them! The number at the top of her contacts—we've called over 10 times, and no one is answering!"

Catherine realized she was being rescued.

The person the doctors mentioned had to be Louis.

He was probably still angry with her and ignoring calls, which was understandable.

"Connected! Connected!"

The doctor asked, "Hello? This is the medical center. Are you a family member of Ms. Erickson? She's been shot with a silver bullet, her condition is critical, and we need you to come in and authorize the surgery!"

There was a brief silence on the communicator, then Louis's mocking voice came through.

"Catherine, I really underestimated you. Now you're even playing the victim?

"I'm telling you, stop wasting time, come back and apologize to Avra!"

After saying that, he hung up the communicator.

In her final moments, Catherine witnessed Louis's ruthlessness.

She couldn't help but smile wryly to herself.

Louis… this time, we really part ways.

"Emergency! Her heart has stopped!"

…

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Louis hung up the communicator, his expression still dark.

His heart pounded violently, and the glands at the back of his neck burned as if being torn apart, the pain nearly making him collapse for a moment.

His wolf, Auri, grew agitated, nearly berserk, howling in anguish like a lone wolf who had lost its mate.

The mate bond still existed, but a heavy sense of foreboding pressed on him. Yet he kept deceiving himself, convinced Catherine was just acting out on her own.

"Louis, shouldn't you go check on her? What if Catherine really got hurt…"

Avra curled up in Louis's arms, smiling as her fingertips lightly traced the warm edge of his coat, her voice soft.

Louis snorted, a shadow of annoyance crossing his face, thinking Catherine was being so unreasonable.

How had I never realized before that she could be so headstrong? I really have spoiled her rotten!

"Fine, I'll give her one last chance," he thought, reasoning that if Catherine sincerely apologized to Avra, he might forgive her.

He then called Catherine's communicator, only to hear, "The number you dialed is currently unavailable."

A frown creased Louis's brow. After being together for so long, Catherine had never ignored his calls.

Feeling a strange flutter of unease, Louis dialed her number again, but still no one answered.

"Catherine! Playing hard to get has its limits!"

Just as Louis was growing frustrated, there was a sudden knock at the door.

He paused, then let out a breath of relief.

With a soft hum, he opened the door. "Catherine, now you know to admit…"

Before he could finish speaking, he froze, realizing that it wasn't Catherine at the door, but several sentinels from the branch office.

"Alpha, Ms. Erickson was shot. She didn't survive despite emergency treatment. The medical center says you need to come in person to identify the body."